Emphasising the significance of the successful deployment of INS Arihant for the completion of India’s nuclear triad, the Prime Minister congratulated the crew and all involved in the achievement which puts India among a handful of countries having the capability to design, construct and operate SSBNs.

Noting that the indigenous development of the SSBN and its operationalisation attest to the country’s technological prowess and the synergy and coordination among all concerned, the Prime Minister thanked them for their dedication and commitment in realising this pioneering accomplishment enhancing immensely the country’s security.

The Prime Minister commended the courage and commitment of India’s brave soldiers and the talent and perseverance of its scientists, whose untiring efforts transformed the scientific achievement of nuclear tests into establishment of an immensely complex and credible nuclear triad, and dispelled all doubts and questions about India’s capability and resolve in this regard.

The Prime Minister stated that the people of India aspire for a ‘Shaktimaan Bharat’ (Strong India) and building a New India. They have strived tirelessly to overcome all challenges in this path. He stressed that a strong India will fulfill the hopes and aspirations of over a billion Indians and will also be an important pillar for global peace and stability, especially in a world full of uncertainties and concerns.

The Prime Minister extended greetings to the participants and their families on the occasion of Deepawali, the Festival of Light. He expressed the hope that just as light dispels darkness and all fear, INS Arihant will be harbinger of fearlessness for the country.

As a responsible nation, India has put in place a robust nuclear command and control structure, effective safety assurance architecture and strict political control, under its Nuclear Command Authority. It remains committed to the doctrine of Credible Minimum Deterrence and No First Use, as enshrined in the decision taken by the Cabinet Committee on Security in its meeting chaired by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on January 04, 2003.

President of India, Ramanad Kovind tweeted: “Congratulations to the Indian Navy and our defence technologists on the completion of INS Arihant’s first deterrence patrol. The successful mission of this indigenous nuclear submarine is a landmark moment in our nation’s security preparedness.”

The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi tweeted: “The success of INS Arihant enhances India’s security needs. It is a major achievement for our entire nation. True to its name, INS Arihant will protect the 130 crore Indians for external threats and contribute to the atmosphere of peace in the region.”

Union Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted: “India has achieved completion of her nuclear triad with the first successful deterrence patrol by INS Arihant. This places India in the league of the few countries that can design, construct and operate Strategic Strike Nuclear Submarines.”

Vice Admiral (Retired) Manohar Prahlad Awati, one of the all time great officer of the Indian Navy breathed his last in his native village, Vinchurni in Satara district of Maharashtra early hours of Sunday at the age of 91. Vice Admiral MP Awati had headed the National Defence Academy and widely known as the father of Indian Navy’s circumnavigation adventures. Born on September 7, 1927, Vice Admiral MP Awati joined the Royal Indian Navy back in 1945. He specialised in signal communication and served on several ships of the Indian Navy including Ranjit, Vendurthy, Betwa, Tir and Mysore.

Vice-Admiral-Manohar-Prahlad Avati-PVSM-VRC. Photo: Twitter-Navy

During the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, Vice Admiral MP Awati was the Commanding Officer of INS Kamorta. For fifteen odd days, the officer had successfully faced Pakistani operations. Acknowledging his leadership and gallantry, Government of India has awarded the Vice Admiral MP Awati with Vir Chakra. He was also a key figure for encompassing the projects pertaining to circumnavigation, right from the first solo adventure of Commander Dilip Donde in 2010 to the latest all-women crew on INSV Tarini, which completed its mission in early 2018.

In the official handle of Indian Navy on Twitter, the spokesperson, Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Sunil Lanba wrote: “Deeply regret to inform the sad demise of Vice Admiral MP Awati (retired) early this morning, at his hometown Vinchurni, Phaltan, near Satara. He was 91. A giant of a man, one of our tallest heroes and greatest icons. It’s truly the end of an era. May his soul rest in peace.”

Vice Admiral Awati served the National Defence Academy in Kadakvasala, a premier tri-services military training institution as a Commandant from March 1976 to July 1977. He had conceivably attended all the passing out parade of NDA till May this year. In 2015, Vice Admiral Awati gifted a Webley Revolver of .38 calibre to the NDA, apparently which was handed over to him as a token of surrender by two senior Pakistan Navy officers in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. The same has been preserved as a souvenir and showcased in the museum of INS Vikrant till 2015 and after that in the museum of the NDA.

Several other personalities also took to Twitter and condoled the death of the icon of Indian Navy. Subash Bhamre, Union Minister of Defence, tweeted: “Deeply pained to know about the sad demise of Vice Admiral MP Awati (Retd), one of our tallest heroes and greatest icons. May his soul rest in peace. Deepest condolences with family.” As per the Vice Admiral’s wishes the last rights were performed at Vinchurni yesterday afternoon.

In what could be termed as the biggest consolidation of banks in India, the Alternative Mechanism comprising of its Chairperson, the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Cabinet Ministers, Piyush Goyal and Nirmala Sitharaman met today in New Delhi and firmed up the merger of the Bank of Baroda, Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank. According to a PIB statement, the envisaged amalgamation will be the first ever three way consolidation of banks in the country with a combined business of Rs.14.82 lakh crore, thus making the new entity as the third largest bank.

The Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Arun Jaitley addressing a press conference, in New Delhi on September 17, 2018. Photo: PIB.

Consolidation Advantage

The consolidation will help create a strong globally competitive bank with economies of scale and enable realisation of wide-ranging synergies. Leveraging of networks, low-cost deposits and subsidiaries of the three banks has the potential of yielding significant synergies for positioning the consolidated entity for substantial rise in customer base, market reach, operational efficiency, wider bouquet of products and services, and improved access for customers, noted the statement.

Strengths

Some of the strengths of the envisaged amalgamated entity are as follows

Provision Coverage Ratio (PCR) at 67.5% is well above Public Sector Banks (PSBs) average (63.7%), and steadily increasing

Net NPA ratio at 5.71% significantly better than PSB average (12.13%), and declining further

Gross NPAs for the combined entity have started declining (decline of Rs. 1,048 crore in Q1)

Cost to income ratio of the combined entity at 48.94% better than the PSB average of 53.92%

Dena Bank’s strength in MSME will further augment the strength of the other two to position the amalgamated bank for being an MSME Udyamimitra

Capital Adequacy Ratio (CRAR) at 12.25% is significantly above the regulatory norm of 10.875%, and stronger amalgamated bank will be better positioned to tap capital markets

Significant cost benefits from synergies: Larger distribution network will reduce operating and distribution costs with benefits for the amalgamated bank, its customers and their subsidiaries

Global network strength of Bank of Baroda will be leveraged to enable customers of Dena Bank and Vijaya Bank to have global access

Access improvement through amalgamation of networks

Wider range of products and services through leveraging of bank subsidiaries and leveraging of a larger network for offering more value-added non-banking services and products

The Indian Defence Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman has categorically asserted that the age old camaraderie the country has with Russia, including defence and security relations will not be affected due to the sanctions imposed by the US on military deals with Moscow, a PTI report said. Sitaraman said that the country will not allow its time-tested defence and security alliance with Russia to be impacted by the American sanctions on military transactions with Moscow.

Stating that the talks on the S-400 missile deal with Moscow is for the most part over, the report went on to quote the Minister as saying that it was a fair hint from Sitharaman that India is on course to firm up the deal in the near future.

What is more, India has always kept its soveriginity intact, when it came to her relationships with other nations, Sitaraman said and added that going forward, the country would maintain the relationship with other countries in all earnestness. While parrying a query on whether the American sanctions on the military deals India has with Russia will impact New Delhi’s strategic and defence relationships with one of its closest partners, she said in the affirmative. The clarification comes at a time that the Russian President, Vladimir Putin is scheduled to visit India early October this year to take part in the annual Indo-Russia summit with the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, when both the nations are likely to hold talks on ways to firm up the strategic relations to the next level. Traditionally, Russia has been one of the strategic partners in terms of the supply of arms and ammunition.

After years of intense negotiations, both the nations are about to sign the Rs.40,000 crore defence deal to source S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems for the Indian Air Force. Thanks to the US military sanctions against Russia under the stringent Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), law for the latter’s annexation of Crimea, there were fair share of uncertainties over the Indo-Russia deal. Notwithstanding the embargo, India had clearly spelt out to the US its intention of going ahead with the sourcing of air defence systems, citing official sources, the agency report said. In fact, the issue surfaced at the first edition of two-plus-two talks between India and the US, held on September 6, 2018. Pressure has been building up in India over the American sanctions against Russian defence firms including Rosoboronexport, as military purchases worth millions of dollars will be affected due to the sanctions.

CAASTA mandates the Donald Trump regime to punish firms involved with major deals with the defence or intelligence establishments of Russia and the area of concern for India is that the country is aiming at sourcing the long-range missile systems in order to strengthen its air defence mechanism, especially, along the 4,000 kilometre stretch along the Sino-India border, the report pointed out.